Effect of the substrate temperatures on the epitaxial rearrangement of the deposited Au nanoclusters

Abstract

As the existence of charged clusters in the gas phase, which were predicted by the charged cluster model, has been confirmed for many thin film processes, it becomes important to understand the deposition dynamics of the clusters. In this study, deposition behaviors of the cluster of 1985 Au atoms on the (100) gold surface were studied at the deposition temperatures of 300, 700 and 1000 K by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation using the embedded atom method (EAM) potential. After 320 picoseconds of cluster landing on the surface at 300 and 700 K, only a part of the cluster rearranged into the epitaxial orientation with the substrate with the rest of the cluster making a grain boundary at 300 K and a twin at 700 K. At 1000 K, however, the cluster fully underwent epitaxial recrystallization. These results imply that the high rate of epitaxial deposition by clusters of a few nanometers is possible as long as the substrate temperature is sufficiently high as was previously suggested in the charged cluster model.